Skip to main content

La La Land



Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemary DeWitt, and J.K. Simmons
Directed by: Damien Chazelle
Written by: Damien Chazelle

     LA folks rejoice!  Yet another movie set in our beloved city!
     This is the story about a young couple in modern day Los Angeles (one a jazz piano player and the other an aspiring actress).  As both become increasingly successful, they are faced with decisions that may threaten their relationship.  Honestly folks, there's not much new here with the story.
     Let me just begin by saying that despite that last sentence, this is my favorite movie of the year.  There are a number of movies that have been about this good, like Nocturnal Animals, Lion, or even Arrival, but La La Land takes the cake.  It's refreshing to see a new musical on the screen, especially one that's done in the style of a musical from decades past.
     The film opens up to a wonderful number atop one of Los Angeles's more famous freeway interchanges.  There are wonderful views of much of the city, but with a focus on the horrible gridlock those of us who live here are forced to deal with every day.  Traffic is terrible, actually completely stopped.  This opening number takes place completely on one of the transition ramps in this interchange.  It is wonderfully choreographed and a great introduction to the film.  It's also where we meet the two main characters, Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling).
      The film is very clearly a throwback to older musicals, ones like MGM produced so many of in decades past.  It is done in a similar style to musicals such as Singin' in the Rain.  While it may not have particular numbers that may be remembered as well as numbers from Singin' in the Rain, it certainly has visuals and themes that will be remembered for years to come and will probably be studied in film history classes.  The characters are similar in their naivety and relationship compared to older musicals.  There is a great level of importance placed on color and lighting throughout the film that drastically enhance the tone of any particular theme.  There's even a dream sequence towards the end, something many musicals have.  It shows the possibility of what could have been once the viewer knows the reality.  There is wonderful singing and choreography all throughout the film.
     La La Land is a film that simply could not take place anywhere else, not only because of the locations it highlights, but because of the story itself.  An aspiring movie actress storyline would only make sense in Los Angeles.  So many of the scenes take place in iconic locations around the city.  Even some subtle jokes are hinted at regarding the weather and the seasons (or lack thereof).  Also, one of the many nicknames for Los Angeles just so happens to be la la land.  How fitting, that when you're as naive as these characters are that they say you're living in la la land.
     I give La La Land an A+.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Magnificent Seven

Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, and Peter Sarsgaard Directed by: Antoine Fuqua Written by: Richard Wenk and Nic Pizzolatto      Remakes are funny things.  They can go either way.  On one hand, they can be like last year's Mad Max: Fury Road, a film that critics and audiences adore; a film that will live on as a cinematic masterpiece.  Remakes can also go in the direction of this year's rendition of Ben-Hur , one that critics and audiences will likely forget.       The Magnificent Seven some might say is an unnecessary remake.  It's a remake of an original that's based on another film, Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic,  Seven Samurai, in which seven samurai soldiers are hired by a town to keep them safe from raiding bandits.  This time, there are no raiding bandits, and there are not seven sword-wielding soldi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Flight

Starring: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, and Bruce Greenwood Directed by: Robert Zemeckis Screenplay by: John Gatins       For those of you who have any fear of flying, even the tiniest fear, you will never want to fly on an airplane again after seeing this film.       Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) saves a commercial airplane from a truly horrific crash, in which only a few people are killed.  Almost everyone survives, including himself.  The stunt he pulls to save the plane is nothing short of a miracle, but an investigation into the crash reveals something that could send Whitaker to prison.  Not only is he going to be responsible for the people who were killed in the crash (which will send him to prison on manslaughter charges), but he was also found to be drinking the night before and the morning of the flight.       The actual plane crash takes place only twenty minutes or so...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth Directed by: Gary Ross Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.      In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.      I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.      If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters ...
2 comments
Read more